Knowing we had just signed another striker, I was feeling quite bit of a pressure to put in a good performance on Saturday (against Yeovil).

I was told by the gaffer quite early on I would be starting because of an injury to Wayne Gray and I knew I had to make the most of my chance.

It felt like a long time since I last scored and with Lee Bradbury?s arrival, this was the time to make my mark again.

I was delighted to get on the scoresheet, even though it was one of my usual close-range finishes.

And, to be honest, aside from the goal, I felt I?d had a good game. Strikers can have good games without scoring and they can have bad games and score, but I felt my contribution was good.

Coming back from the injury, I was feeling fresh and ready to go in and have a strong game and I am happy I did that, and happy that we got the result.

It was another good team performance and it was great to get the three points to keep us at the top of the table.

I hadn?t scored for a while, it felt like quite a few months, so it was important to get back into that habit.

For a striker, you can never underestimate the confidence you can get from hitting the back of the net, however well you?re playing, and it was nice to hear the boss said some nice things about me afterwards.

I was pleased for myself to score the goal and I was pleased that it pleased the gaffer.

The signing of Lee was a smart move by the manager, particularly at this time of year.

It just adds that bit of pressure for all the other strikers, myself included, and maybe will get a bit more out of them. It also sent out a signal to people inside and outside the club that just because we are top of the league, that doesn?t mean we aren?t striving for more.

It set a standard and serves as a warning to our players and other players that Southend mean business this year and are going to pull out all the stops to get the promotion we are all beginning to feel we can achieve.

The team is in good shape at the moment so, in a way, it is a good time to be having two games in five days like we?ve got coming up this weekend against my former club Rotherham and then Brentford.

We are in the second-third of the season and we have a lot of players coming back from injury who are fit and raring to go, which will ease the pressure on the guys who had to carry the burden over the festive period when we were short on available players.

You don?t want to be piling on the fixtures in the last stretch of the season when bodies are getting tired but we are able to cope well at the moment.

It is just important that we keep up the momentum and keep playing the way we know we can. There are still plenty of games left and no one is getting carried away with anything.

We have all been around football long enough to know that anything can happen but we are playing well and long may that continue.

* * * *

IT is great to see my old team-mate Robbie Fowler back at Liverpool.

I am still in touch with him and I certainly bear him no grudge for what happened at City. As professionals, players coming in to replace others is a fact of life and you can?t blame people for it.

I think he is a great lad and he is a great player, even if he hasn?t shown that for a few months.

We are still in touch and I have spoken to him a few times in the years since I moved on from City.

I think he will really flourish at Liverpool. When the supporters are just willing you to succeed, it can give you a real edge as a player.

When you know that you can make seven mistakes in a row in a game but on the eighth time you can still try something different or clever and the crowd will support you, it makes it a lot easier to play with confidence.

If you have people on your back, you won?t try things and you don?t take the risks that make you the player you are.

With the way the fans are at Liverpool, Robbie will be able to do no wrong and that is going to help him bang in a few goals for them for the rest of this season.

I?ve had that sensation of overwhelming support once before in my career, when I was at City, and it can make you play better and better every game.